Most of our case studies demonstrate those cases where we have put in place longer-term finance and where our customers had unique problems which we solved for them. In some of these cases, these were problems that we were unaware of in the beginning. Because we expect the unexpected, we handled them in our usual and professional way.

We believe that our customers deserve to have any of their challenges handled professionally and with integrity and we like to think the way we do this is clear from the examples and case studies we provide below.

Of course, we don’t just handle problem cases, or solely farm related business; Our aim is to provide as good a job to all our customers, wherever they are, whatever the situation, throughout the rural community.1. A remortgage from a farm bridging loan. No formal evidence of income.

Doctor M – ScotlandFarm remortgage, Farm loan. A remortgage from a farm bridging loan. No formal evidence of income.Our customer first approached us in June 2018 where he was looking to raise money to make settlement, with his ex-wife, in their unfortunate divorce. At this time Doctor M did not go ahead with us and instead raised a bridging loan, which then needed to be repaid. Doctor M then approached us again, in November 2018, after he had been to another broker who had failed, and we were able to raise a long term loan, at a much lower interest rate, for him to repay the bridging loan. Doctor M did not have formal evidence of income and we were able to obtain a loan, based upon his projected income moving forward, in an accountant’s letter.

After completion Doctor M kindly wrote to us and said:

Dear Mr Bracegirdle,

Once again I must thank you for the effort you put in on this project. You succeeded where another broker had totally failed and I am more than impressed.

If I can provide a testimonial for your company I shall be most happy to do so.

Perhaps the moral in this story is that we can achieve things where other brokers do not. This is because we specialise in this type of business. We are extremely pleased that Doctor M can now put his divorce behind him and get on with running his business. Our thanks to him for his kind words.

Mrs P W – CornwallFarm mortgage order for repossession, farm finance, agricultural restriction, agricultural tie, short-term farm loan, farm remortgage, farm finance, farm bridging loan, agricultural mortgagetWe are very pleased to have been able to help Pat – this type of business give us a real buzz because we can make a big difference, by helping to relieve some of the stress, to offer support and expertise that ensures the right farm finance is put in place and that our customers are fully informed of what it is we are doing for them, without false promises. Not only that, we are there for our customers after their farm loan has completed to offer further support should it be needed.

Despite her financial difficulties, we were able to negotiate some breathing space with Pat’s current lender’s solicitors to allow time to put the farm finance in place. This also allowed time for her to receive full legal advice on what she was doing before commitment, which we think is essential. Not all finance companies are as keen to ensure that customers know what they are doing before they go ahead with a short-term farm loan.

Throughout the entire process we were there for our customer, liaising with lawyers, getting things moving and generally offering our support to ensure that she not only got her farm bridging loan but also that she suffered from as little stress as possible.

We wish Pat every success with her plans.

Our customer, who was situated in Cornwall, found herself in some difficulties with her current bankers and needed a farm mortgage – she was under extreme pressure because there was an order for repossession against her.

The property had an agricultural restriction or agricultural tie which meant that, apart from the farm remortgage where the customer was in difficulties, there was the added challenge of finding a lender that would accommodate the occupancy restriction as well.

We were proposing to arrange a short-term farm loan of two years, as the customer was already in contact with local land agents with a view to the removal of the agricultural tie which, once done, would increase the value of her property. She just needed the time to see this through to allow her to either sell the property or refinance with a farm remortgage once her finances were back in shape.

When the loan completed, our customer sent a message:

Dear Mark,
Thank you so much for all your help. It is such a relief to have more breathing space but my work here is not done yet. I will indeed keep you updated as things progress.

Miss F – North ManchesterFarm loan, farm mortgage, agricultural mortgageA classic example of a customer who had tried, in despair, to obtain farm finance and was unable to do so until we arranged a farm loan for her.Miss F was beginning to think that she would never achieve her dream of owning her property, for which she needed a farm mortgage, until she contacted us.

The farm, which our customer used for her business, was owned by her grandfather who was elderly and unwell and needed some cash. He had always planned to give the property to our customer but, as he needed some money now, our customer wanted to buy his interest, although at a reduced price.

To achieve this, she needed a farm mortgage. She had applied in various other places for a farm loan, but had been turned down because of her previous bankruptcy. We arranged a long term farm loan for our customer.

After the farm loan had completed Miss F sent us this message:

‘Thank you to you both. Without all your help it would never have happened. You do not know how much this means to me.’

Mrs and Mrs R of CeredigionFarm loan, short-term farm loan, bridging loan for farm, farm bridging loanThis case sums it up for short-term farm finance. Our customers had initially approached a competitor that offers ‘opportunity’ finance. In fact our competitor suggests that it is the market leader in farm finance. As is the norm for them, they very quickly rushed out to see our customers and made promises of a farm bridging loan to them. We served the customers at a speed that suited them and showed them ethically, an option that made huge savings for them. We did not make them promises about refinancing of the farm bridging loan; in fact we told them truthfully that a farm remortgage was not an option for them, because the level of debt they were raising was not sustainable by them over the longer-term. As a consequence, we did not set out to take extra monitoring fees or fees associated with farm refinance that was never going to happen. Rather what we achieved, very clearly, was a situation where the customers could turn most of their discount into their own profit. The difference that makes the difference is this – if short-term farm finance or farm bridging finance is called opportunity finance it’s best to ensure that the opportunity is one for you to exploit and not your broker. That’s what we are here for.Our customers had worked a farm for generations and the owners, The University of Aberystwyth, wanted to sell. As the customers had a secure tenancy, they were able to negotiate a price at a large discount. Having done this, their land agent attempted to secure farm finance for them via our competitor based in Somerset. Very quickly they visited our customers and made them promises of farm bridging finance. The customers were unsure and their agent approached us. We were able to secure their farm finance saving them in excess of £70,000, in interest rates and charges, over a twelve month period and over £40,000 over six months. The customers were in a position to realise a very large profit from the deal which is now more than it would have been because of the savings we made. They actually did this.
You might not get us out to see you the next day because, as this example shows, it is not necessary. What is necessary, when it comes to arranging farm finance or a farm mortgage, is honesty and integrity. We believe that this is far better than a next day lightning visit. We know it is better for our customers as Mr and Mrs R found out.

Mr and Mrs W of North WalesA farm loan, a second mortgage for a farmA very good example of a farm loan where the property had an agricultural tie and where there were financial difficulties. These were challenges that required expertise.

The moral in the story is this – if you want a job doing properly, do it yourself but if you don’t know how to go about it, make sure you go to people who know what they are doing. Make sure also that you choose people with the right credentials and the right integrity – our qualifications in accountancy and our experience in banking and in our business are testimony to our ability to arrange farm finance.

Our customer is based in North Wales and has a property subject to an agricultural tie that meant he was already up against it to raise farm finance on it. He came to us for a farm loan. His current farm mortgage was with a lender offering a very good rate of interest and he did not want to touch this. Moreover, he had two loans with two clearing banks, both of which had been in recoveries or collections for some time. Accordingly, he was under great pressure. What made this case different was the very real trouble we had getting replies and information out of both of the recoveries departments concerned and had it not been for our tenacity and determination, the case would not have gone ahead. In reality we knew which bells to ring and which buttons to press and the end result was a concession of interest to our customer on one of the accounts concerned. Not only did we successfully arrange the farm loan, we obtained some money back for our customer.

Mr H of BuckinghamshireShort term finance for a farm, farm bridging loan, fast farm financeThis is a very good example of what can be done where speed is the determining factor and where the customer dictates the pace. It is key to a farm bridging loan that there is a way to repay the farm loan on or before the end of the loan term and you should beware of any situation where you are being pushed into a farm bridging loan where other kinds of farm finance are more appropriate. The honesty and integrity of the broker you choose is of paramount importance.Mr H, a previous customer, called us on a Thursday needing to raise money very quickly for investment. We visited Mr H the next day, completed the documentation and delivered it to the lender the same day. Mr H received cleared funds in his bank account on the Monday, allowing him to complete his investment without fuss. The transaction took 3 working days from telephone call to the client receiving his farm finance. We can’t promise that every transaction will be this quick, but we pride ourselves in being able to react to customers’ needs in the way our customers want us to proceed.

Mr D – South EastFarm Finance, long term agricultural loan, farm mortgage, mortgage for a farm with an agricultural restrictionThis is a good example of a case where our customer had a farm mortgage with a more expensive lender where it would have been possible to place him with the lender we used in the first instance but his subsequent brokers had ignored this. Not only does this demonstrate the sort of problems we regularly deal with, but it also opens questions about whether the broker concerned worked in the best interests of their customer. It also demonstrates how we professionally and sympathetically handle problems, with the interests of the customer at the top of our list. It is easy then to compare the way we worked with the way the previous broker worked, illustrating the need to choose your broker carefully.Mr D had a number of goals. Firstly, he wanted to get away from the lender he was paying a high rate of interest to and to whom he had missed some payments. Secondly, his bank was pressing him to reduce debt. To add to this, he wanted to buy some land, which was available at a good price. The solution was a long-term farm loan replacing all the debt at a far better rate of interest, which raised the additional cash for the land, put extra money in the bank and reduced outgoings. The property offered as security was subject to an agricultural restriction.

Mr C from KentFarm Finance, long term farm loan, farm mortgage, agricultural mortgage, loan for fruit farm, mortgage for fruit farmThis is one of those really nice cases where, in achieving the goals of our customers, we were able to help fulfill the dreams of a man who had always wanted to own the farm he now lives in.Mr C and his family were lifelong fruit farmers though had never had the opportunity to own and run their own farm having always worked for other folk. They were suddenly offered the chance to buy a farm Mr C’s father had grown up on and one he had always dreamed of owning, though had given up hope of ever doing so. Other brokers hadn’t been able to help and our customers needed to act quickly. They were offered the rates from the usual lenders most brokers would select for this type of job, which we were able to beat easily. During the buying process a number of issues came up that needed the right sort of expertise to resolve and we were able to ensure that the property was in our customers’ hands by the deadline. We were delighted to be able to help our customers’ dreams become reality by arranging the appropriate farm finance for this purpose.

Mrs N – DevonRural Finance, long term loan for a farm, farm loan, agricultural mortgage, farm remortgage, remortgage for a farmAn example of our after sales care and how we went the extra mile to recover money for our customer from a third party beyond the contract we had with her. Given the short time we had to organise this farm loan, we believe that some of our competitors would have suggested our customer enter into a farm bridging loan, when this type of farm finance was not appropriate. It always pays to get an honest opinion of your options.Our customer had converted her farm yard and house into letting units and had two large agricultural loans, one of which was in arrears and where receivers had been appointed with a very short lead time before the property was due to be sold at auction. Not only did we successfully refinance all borrowings, at competitive rates, but also we became suspicious about the receiver’s charges. After completion we challenged the receiver’s costs and obtained a refund of charges exceeding £6,000 at no extra cost to our customer. Our customer has since been back to us for a further farm loan, always an indication that a customer is happy with the lender and our service.

Mr M – StaffordshireFarm mortgage, mortgage for a farm, farm finance, farm remortgage, agricultural mortgageThe darkest hour is the one before the dawn. In this case our customer was all at sea and in total despair and yet now he has a good business and goes from strength to strength. The case also illustrates the sort of utter bureaucratic stupidity that farmers have had to endure in the recent past and with which we fully empathise.Our customer was at the mercy of the Intervention Board, which was claiming money for the over production of milk to some tune. Not only this, our customer was going through an acrimonious divorce and his wife had registered a caution over the property. We raised enough money, through a farm remortgage, to repay all debts and in the process negotiated a reduction in the debt due to the Intervention Board and kept in touch with the ex-wife to stop her from taking further proceedings. Our customer has come back on three further occasions for further farm loans until the Intervention Board happily refunded all they had taken from him earlier in 2006. He goes from strength to strength in his diversified farm business with the continued support of Farm and Country Finance.

11. Agricultural mortgage for a smallholding with an agricultural restriction.

Mr & Mrs W – East Midlands A farm mortgage for a property with an Agricultural Restriction, smallholding mortgage, farm remortgageIt’s an odd thing but when a person goes bankrupt they can suddenly become very popular with those offering quack insolvency services. And so it was with these customers who almost parted with money to someone who turned up on the doorstep allegedly plying this trade. The challenge we find, with these situations, is that customers usually go bankrupt when they have no need to at all and because they do not know how the system works. This case underlines that it is best to get some good and honest opinions when the demands start arriving but also that being bankrupt does not mean there is no way out, through farm finance, as long as you choose the right people to help.The petitioning creditor in this case was HM Revenue & and a bankruptcy order had been made against both parties. There was enough equity in the property, which was subject to an agricultural restriction, to repay all debt in the bankruptcy and we worked with our customers’ solicitors to obtain an annulment of their bankruptcy by raising the farm loan needed for the court to make the order. There are few lenders who understand what is needed in this sort of situation and we enjoy a relationship with ours, which makes this sort of farm finance transaction routine and straightforward.

Mr & Mrs W North Yorkshire Rural Finance mortgage for purchase of a smallholding, farm mortgage, agricultural mortgage, mortgage for a property with an agricultural restrictionIf you want the proper job then you have to find the proper person.

This case illustrates the risks in selecting the wrong people to do a job. There should have been something from the valuation report, in this case, that rang alarm bells requiring further investigation. This was missed by our competitors, but not only this, when we found out about an agricultural restriction we actually lost the deal because it could go no further. Not only this, these customers parted with over £2,000 to get an offer of a farm mortgage that was not what they had been told they were going to be offered and in fact would have cost them thousands of pounds more.

Our customers did come back to us when they wanted to proceed with another property. Honesty is the best policy. It also indicates that everything happens for a reason – in losing the first property our customers found a better one.

We are delighted that our customers’ testimonial now graces our home page. As a result of the farm mortgage we arranged, our customer has a very successful and award winning business.

Our customers had been to one of our competitors who describe themselves as specialists in commercial finance. The rate offered was in excess of that we could achieve and so the customers cancelled their application with them only after parting with a lot of money to get an offer that was more expensive than what they had been told. During the process we established that the property, our customers planned to purchase, was subject to an agricultural restriction a fact that had been missed by our competitors and which would have exposed our customers to a large loss, due to its impact on the valuation.

Whilst we could have raised a farm loan for this property, the vendor was not prepared to reduce the price and accordingly our customers could not proceed at that time. However, they have since found another property and we have successfully financed it for them by way of a mortgage for a smallholding.

13. Farm bridging loan and remortgage for an equestrian property and a farm remortgage.

Mr & Mrs P – Hampshire A farm bridging loan and a farm re-mortgage for an equestrian property and an equestrian re-mortgage, short term farm loanThis is a case where a farm bridging loan was appropriate and represents another conclusion resulting in a dream come true for our customers. There were one or two nerve racking moments, in this case, that needed to be handled with both care and sensitivity and the case underlines the need to think carefully before getting into a farm bridging loan or short term farm finance secured on property. Only use a broker that understands what is needed in this type of situation. This customer was kind enough to write a testimonial that brought tears to the eyes – the link to this is here

Our customers had become tired of the expense of living in a large and expensive property, which was an equestrian property in Hampshire. They had seen a property, near to their daughter, in Scotland and made an offer on it and needed a short-term farm loan or an agricultural bridging loan to buy it. In fact our customers did not know what sort of farm finance they needed to achieve their goal, which is where we came in. We arranged two farm loans, totalling over £1m, secured on these properties, whilst the Hampshire property was marketed. Our customers trusted us enough to introduce their buyer to us and we organised a quality long-term farm loan for them and then re-mortgaged the small and expected deficit on the Scottish property, with a farm remortgage, resulting in a huge lifestyle change for our customers. If you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.

Mr & Mrs B – StaffordshireMortgage for a smallholding, long term farm loan, fixed rate farm mortgage agricultural mortgageEverything happens for a reason and this case, another lifestyle purchase, underlines it most. It should be noted that Mr B came to us by recommendation.Our customers wanted some land for their horses and for their young children and when a farm came up for sale close by, they had the opportunity to bid for one of the lots at auction. To finance this, we arranged a farm loan to be secured on their current property in the knowledge that if the land was not bought at auction the loan would not go ahead. In the end, the farm was sold as a whole and we received the call from Mr B who was devastated he had not got the land. Not long after, a property he had long been after but which he had previously missed came up for sale again and he has now bought it with an agricultural mortgage arranged through us. Life has a funny habit of doing this sort of thing and it always gives us a real buzz when this sort of thing happens.

Mr H – ShropshireFarm Finance, agricultural remortgage, agricultural loan, long term farm loan, fixed rate farm re-mortgageFarmers hate paperwork, which is why we produce all necessary documents to ease the burdens in arranging farm finance. This case underlines how customers come back to us from all stages of life and again and again – we must be doing something right. In this case, we helped Mr H take on his bank that had treated him shoddily with regards to their treatment of his overdraft. This was not part of our deal with Mr H – we just did it.Our customers were originally Mr H and his mum and dad for whom we had successfully arranged a farm remortgage some years before. Mr H kept in touch with us and we often heard from him just to catch up with how he was getting on. Sadly, Mr H’s mum and dad had passed on and it was with some concern that we learned that Mr H had not attended to the things needed to deal with the estate and that creditors were now frustrated. In some two years, probate had not been obtained. A great deal of sensitivity was required in this case, because Mr H had been very close to his late mother and with our guidance Mr H dealt with the formalities through his solicitor, allowing us to put the necessary farm finance in place to deal with all the creditors and debts. During this process, Mr H told us that he was in dispute with his bank who he believed had treated him shoddily with regards to an overdraft. He also owed around £4,500 on a personal loan. We helped Mr H in reaching a settlement with his bankers resulting in Mr H paying only £2,500 in respect of the personal loan, saving £2,000.

Andrew – Essex Farm development loan and replacement of bank overdraft with a farm remortgageA bit of a surprise this one because it’s an example of when we didn’t do business at all and hopefully says something about who and what we are. We are not here for the quick hit and exist to forge long lasting relationships with customers.Andrew called us to say he had several properties valued at over £3m and needed £1m of farm finance to clear an overdraft. Andrew’s old bank manager had retired and the new broom, at his review, was looking for extra charges and Andrew was not best pleased. It transpired that Andrew was looking to sell property, in the near future, to repay the bank, when he had obtained outline-planning consent on some of his land. From a farm bridging point of view, this deal was easy but it was not in Andrew’s best interest to come out of his existing farm finance arrangements. We explained this to him and gave him a few tips on how he could approach his bank to discuss terms with them further. We reckon Andrew went away pleased merely to have spoken to someone who could listen sensibly and with some ideas, with the proviso he could come back to us if he wanted any more help.

Mr T – West YorkshireFarm loan, mortgage for a farm, loan for a farm, farm remortgage, agricultural loanAnother customer who could not believe we could sort things out for him following an argument, with his brother, over the will of his late mother. It’s a good sign that a customer is happy when he comes back for further help as in this case. The message is find the right help, someone who cares enough to ensure that customers will feel comfortable about coming back, as ours often do. Another broker who could not get this deal done introduced our customer to us.Mr T had put his life and soul into making this small farm what it was. He was running a successful caravan storage business and park from the farm and had let the land to another local farmer with no formal agreement. When his mother died he fell out with his brother who had lived at the farm but had not contributed to its development. He needed to raise a farm mortgage to buy his brother out, following an agreement to vary his late mother’s will. Along the way we had to deal with one or two planning queries from the lender’s solicitors and these were resolved and the farm loan completed. After some years of stress, Mr T is now in control of his own life again and has only recently made an enquiry to increase his borrowing for further investment that he has in mind.

18. Long term farm loan – remortgage for rural property, farm development finance.

Mr D – HaverfordwestFarm loan remortgage for rural property farm development finance, farm diversification loan agricultural financeThis example demonstrates the need to have any development or building work supervised by a professional even where the builder is a mate or a relative. It also demonstrates the type of added value services we offer to our customers and highlights that we go the extra mile for them even in the toughest of times. It is noteworthy that our customer, when in trouble, did not seek advice from his lawyer or anyone else but came back to us.Our customer’s property was in need of renovation and he had obtained estimates for this work from his girlfriend’s nephew. Because he trusted his ‘nephew’, he did not think it relevant to have the work he was doing supervised and whilst we recommended he should, he did not do so. We raised the first farm loan for him but within six months he was back saying he had run out of money. The job total was nearly double the original estimate, the job was not finished and the ‘nephew’ was threatening legal action for payment and had vacated the site. It remained difficult to convince our customer that he should now involve a Quantity Surveyor though we eventually convinced him, on the basis that the QS could not only supervise the ongoing work but could also assess the work that had been done, to ensure the ‘nephew’s’ charges were justified. We organised a QS for our customer who established that the ‘nephew’ was seeking to overcharge by over £11,000. Throughout we corresponded with the ‘nephew’s lawyers and easily reached terms of settlement. The QS came up with the amount of money required to complete the job and then supervised the work to the end of the project. We raised the additional farm finance to make the necessary payments and the job was finished to everyone’s satisfaction.

Mr & Mrs W – WhitbyFarm Finance, long term farm loan remortgage for a farm, agricultural mortgageA case that emphasises the need to deal with creditors early and not to bury the head in the sand when the nasties drop through the letter box or when they are served on you.Our customers had been made bankrupt when they never needed to be. Their overall debts where around £30,000 and they had property valued at over £400,000. How simple it would have been had they made contact with us some time before matters spiralled out of control. Unfortunately, they ignored just about everything sent to them or served on them and the court had no alternative but to make a bankruptcy order. The costs of bankruptcy can be staggering and after two years the overall amount required to annul the bankruptcy was around £80,000. Sadly, our customers did nothing until their trustee had lost patience and threatened to sell their property from under them at which time we were called. Getting the farm loan in place was the easy part, the more diffic

Liz Fletcher and friendsLand loan, loan for land, land mortgage, mortgage for landOur land loan solution was key to our customers’ dreamsWe have been delighted, not only to add Liz and her friends to our family of customers, but more to be able to make their dream of land ownership become true, through a mortgage for land. Poor Liz lost more than one piece of ground and, to her credit, she remained determined and in May of 2019 her dream was fulfilled.

Liz has sent us such a kind testimonial, from the heart, that it makes us proud to have helped changed her life; it makes all the effort so worthwhile and this is what we aim to do with all our customers.

Here are some of the things Liz said:

And we know we will have plenty more of those magical moments – all thanks to you and all your hard work. You believed in us even when our friends and families said any land purchase was a useless endeavour that would never amount to success. And thanks to you, we proved them wrong!

I will be in touch soon when I have details of the donation. In the mean time, do you have a link to your website where I can leave feedback? I want the world to know how amazing you are – you really do make dreams come true, and we will forever be indebted to you for that.

Again the moral in the story is that we can achieve things where other brokers do not. Even when people told Liz things were difficult, if not impossible, we stuck with her. Well done Liz and thanks!

21. A remortgage from a farm bridging loan. No formal evidence of income.

Mr B – CumbriaFarm remortgage, Farm loan.A remortgage from a farm bridging loan. No formal evidence of income.Our customer was in a very expensive short-term loan which had suited his purposes for a while but he needed to raise additional funds and so he approached us. Not only were we able to raise the additional funds he needed, to allow farm expansion, but overall he is now paying out less per month than he had been paying under his farm bridging loan.

Some extracts from his messages, following completion are as follows:

“Thank you very much again everything you’ve done is genuinely appreciated and the pressure is finally off.”

“I understand and appreciate all the chasing up etc you’ve done for me.”

“I’m most grateful for all the work!”

“If I hear of anyone looking for finance in the future, I’ll be sure to pass on your details.”

Unlike the banks, the lenders we use are far more flexible when it comes to evidence of income which allows us to raise farm finance in case where other lenders would say no.

Miss M LincolnshireLoan for land, land finance, mortgage for landAnother case where flexibility with income was needed.Our customer wanted to buy further land and used her existing land and the land she was buying as security. Miss M had several sources of income which needed a lender that would take this into account that was successfully achieved for her. This case was not merely about arranging the loan but being there to coordinate the activities of other people, in the process, and also to lend support to our customer.

In an extract from a message received Miss M just before completion, she said:

“You both earn your money, I’ll grant you that! I couldn’t do it……..”

And when she learned that the loan had completed and she owned the land.

“Woooooo hooooooo. Thank you both so much”

I think we can safely say that Miss M was happy with the service she received to obtain her land loan.

Mr and Mrs K – DerbyshireShort-term farm loan, auction finance for farm land, land finance, land loanA family break-up with one farmer wanting to buy out the other to continue his work.Our customer’s father had sadly died and his property, which our customers had farmed, was for sale by auction and our customers wanted to raise money quickly to bid at the auction to buy out siblings. Whilst it was not possible to get a farm finance offer from them, in the one day before the auction, we were able to get a facility agreed in such a way that they could bid at the auction. On this occasion they were not successful but afterwards our customers said (as it came in):

Our customer’s father had sadly died and his property, which our customers had farmed, was for sale by auction and our customers wanted to raise money quickly to bid at the auction to buy out siblings. Whilst it was not possible to get a farm finance offer from them, in the one day before the auction, we were able to get a facility agreed in such a way that they could bid at the auction. On this occasion they were not successful but afterwards our customers said (as it came in):

Hello Mark Bracegirdle,

Only just got my email back after 6 days without.

We would like to thank you for all your help and advise.

After trying to deal with Natwest who we have been with for a life time it was so nice to talk to someone who understood our situation.

We will certainly recommend your services.

Thanking you

What stands out, in this case, is that our customers had been with National Westminster Bank for years and that they we able to call Farm and Country Finance who understood what they needed very quickly and were able to deliver it.